Army of Corpses
by Khandi Barr
Summary: Based a few weeks after the Season 2 finale. Work in progress. Contains some spoilers. Mohinder, Matt, Mollly, Sylar OC. It all starts with an antique bracelet, an ancient text about The Company, Matt's new police investigation and Sylar's revenge.
1. Prologue

_Someone I know once said that "The future is not written in stone." But what if your fate had been written on parchment long before you were born? Is it still subject to change? Or are you destined to walk the path laid out for you?_

So much had happened in the four weeks since Sylar retuned to New York City. For Molly's safety, Mohinder had to approach The Company for a new location. Bob Bishop arranged for Matt, Mohinder, Molly and the Dawson family to move to Hartsdale, NY. This was the location of the Primatech Research facility. Mohinder set up a new laboratory within the safety of Primatech walls and Matt kept his detective position at NYPD. Meanwhile, The Dawsons had the opportunity to start a new life after the loss of Micah's parent's. It also gave Molly a stable family environment, something that both Matt and Mohinder had difficulty providing. The Company provided them a big beautiful house for them all to stay in. It was right in the suburbs. All that was missing was at white fence and a dog. All were reluctant about the move at first. Accepting the offer gave Bob and The Company a certain level of control over them. But in exchange they had safety. After much consideration, all parties decided that it was a risk worth taking.

One day, after reading an article is a medical publication, Mohinder decided to go on a trip.


	2. Chapter 1

Mohinder was tired after his long journey. Botswana further away from The States than he expected. But it was an experience that would stay with him for the rest his life. For all the right reasons. He had gone to a place that his father once visited. A remote area of Botswana that his father had mentioned in one of his journals. The home of the third anonymous female who Chandra thought to be telepathic. It was the Shanti Virus that lead him there. There was an outbreak which seemed to be concentrated around two specific villages, indicating that a high amount of gifted humans lived there. He put together an epic amount of vaccines to take with him, desperately hoping that it hadn't yet mutated. When he arrived at the villages he was welcomed with open arms. People bowed down to him as if he was a deity. Some of the older members of the community claimed that his arrival was predestined.

The religion of the two villages was centred around a set of sacred texts which told a story of a great plague. Sent to them by a scriptural figure akin to the devil. It was also written in their scriptures that a great magician would arrive from the land of the west. This magician would bring with him the elixir of life. The potion would destroy the plague and save the people. However, Mohinder's great arrival was greeted by fear by some of the people. The text also predicted that if Mohinder was indeed the foretold magician then the an evil force was also present. It was a force that they called "The Deceiver's Child." Someone with the power to inflict death upon the living and enslave their corpses. The Deceiver's Child would raise an army of death and bring woe upon the world, beginning with the "Land of the West." Conveniently, the scriptures also predicted that the magician would be the one to seek and destroy this dark force before anything the worst was to happen.

As he arrived at the house, he tried not to make any noise as it was late and he didn't want to wake Molly. "You're back!" squealed a familiar little voice. Molly darted across the room and threw herself at her adoptive father, almost knocking him over. "You're supposed to be in bed," said Mohinder, trying to be cross. Nana Dawson entered the room through the kitchen and burst out laughing when she saw Mohinder. "Thank goodness you're home" she said. "Now we can all get some rest." She gave Molly a cheeky wink as she headed upstairs. "I'll let you put her to bed." Nana called out as she went.

Molly dragged Mohinder to the centre of the room where the sofa was. She wanted to know everything straight away. The idea of an entire village full of evolved humans excited her. "Did you save them? Are they okay now? What are they like? "

"It's really late, Molly and I have so many stories. I promise, I'll tell you everything tomorrow." Mohinder said. "Oh, but I want to hear about it now!" Molly protested. "Okay!" laughed Mohinder. "If I show you something will you promise to go to bed?" Molly gave Mohinder an excited nod. She grinned from ear to ear as she wandered what lay in Mohinder's flight bag.

He held out a bundle of white fabric in his hand and gently unwrapped it to reveal a small gold bracelet. Molly gasped in awe of the delicate little trinket. Mohinder grinned in agreement.

"Pretty, isn't it?" he said. Molly nodded enthusiastically. "Where did you get it?" she asked. Mohinder proceeded to tell Molly the story of the little girl who previously owned it.

"She was born long ago, on an island far away from here. Everyone who lived on the island had special abilities and it became known as the "Land of Magic" As he said the island's name he put on a comical voice and waved his fingers in the air like a magician casting a spell. It made Molly giggle. "The people were scared of the little girl because she was born at exactly the same time as a solar eclipse. But they didn't understand what an eclipse was. They thought the darkness meant something evil."

At that moment, Mohinder realised something about himself. He didn't want to admit it to her, but he was just as excited about the situation as Molly was, more so even. If he allowed himself to continue the story, he would be up all night telling more. He didn't have the stamina for that. Not after the lengthy journey home. Molly noticed the change in Mohinder's expression.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter" he said dismissively. "It's just a story. It's probably not even true. Just superstition like the…" Mohinder trailed off when he realised that he just about to mention the one mythical character that really did exist. The evil creature that killed Molly's parents. The reason they had to leave New York City and move to Hartsdale. The Boogeyman. "Would you like to try it on?" he quickly asked, relieved that he was able to change the subject so quickly. Molly jumped to her feet and held out her hand for him to put it on.

As Mohinder placed the bracelet around Molly's wrist she stared at it with wonder and amazement. She stepped a little closer to inspect the strange inscription on the outside. Then without warning, Molly screamed and pulled her hand away. Mohinder was quite taken aback by her reaction. He looked at the bracelet that was still held between his hands. As he tried to hand it back to her, Molly turned and ran towards the stairs. "I don't want it!" she wailed. "Molly, what's wrong?" Asked Mohinder "It's just an old bracelet."

"No, it's not!" she screamed as she turned back. "It belongs to the little girl and she wants it back."

Mohinder's heart almost stopped. "Molly, that's impossible, this bracelet is over a hundred years old."

"I don't care!" Molly said abruptly. "I thought about the girl who owned that bracelet and I saw her. But she's not a little girl anymore. She's something else. Something evil." She looked towards the floor as she mumbled something under her breath.

"What?" gasped Mohinder. He heard what Molly had said but he wasn't sure if it was right.

"I said when I see her, she knows I'm there. Just like the Nightmare Man." said Molly. She sat down on the bottom step and began to cry. Mohinder picked her up and cuddled her. "I'm sorry Molly, I had no idea this would happen. I'll take the bracelet to my lab first thing tomorrow, so you don't have to see it." He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks "Come on, let's get the sleeping bags and camp in the living room."


End file.
